On this day: August 9

2010: Former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens dies when a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter plane he and several others were passengers in crashes while en route to a private fishing lodge in Alaska. Stevens represented Alaska in the Senate, serving from Dec. 24, 1968, until Jan. 3, 2009, making him the longest-serving Republican senator in history. A World War II veteran, he also held senior positions in the Eisenhower Interior Department in the 1950s. In 2008, Stevens was embroiled in a federal corruption trial as he ran for re-election to the Senate. He was found guilty, and eight days later was narrowly defeated at the polls.

Construction begins on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a firefighting bear makes his debut, the United States drops the bomb on Japan again, Charles Manson's followers commit mass murder, and Nixon resigns, all on this day.